Dear Angelenos:

Another summer of extreme weather, fire, and drought has underscored the importance of acting to protect our environment. Sustainability is a focus of our work citywide, from our proposed Wildlife Ordinance that aims to protect animals’ connectivity in the hillsides and the climate-adapted design approaches outlined in our Urban Design Guidelines to the updated Transportation Demand Management Ordinance that will encourage more sustainable alternatives to vehicle travel.

The environmental aspects of our work tie in with our commitment to promoting environmental justice, especially considering the disproportionate share of the burdens of climate change that lower-income and underinvested communities bear. The minimal citywide resources devoted to these communities' welfare and livability during past decades are partly to blame for this imbalance.

In August, we released a draft ordinance that would ban oil and gas drilling in Los Angeles altogether, marking a significant step in our path toward a sustainable future. Prohibiting fuel extraction would protect neighboring communities from pollution, reduce emissions that accelerate climate change, and beautify the City. Read more about this historic proposal below.

Together, we are Planning4LA.

Sincerely,

Slauson Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan Public Hearing

On August 23, City Planning held a virtual information session and public hearing on the draft of the Slauson Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan (TNP). The City and LA Metro launched the TNP program in 2012 to encourage the growth of livable communities and employment centers around Los Angeles’s expanding transit network.

The Slauson Corridor TNP plans for green jobs, expands affordable housing opportunities, and promotes path-oriented building design along Slauson Avenue, a major commercial corridor in South Los Angeles. It also proposes to guide nearby land use and development to promote access to Metro’s planned bike path, the Rail-to-Rail Active Transportation Corridor.

After incorporating feedback from the public hearing and comment submission process into the draft, the Slauson Corridor TNP team will advance the draft ordinance to the City Planning Commission before the City Council votes on adoption.

Executive Summary & Preliminary Draft Plan

Preliminary Draft Plan StoryMap

City Planning Proposes Ban on Oil and Gas Drilling

On August 9, City Planning staff released the proposed Oil and Gas Drilling Ordinance (Oil Ordinance) for public review and feedback. As directed by City Council, the proposed Oil Ordinance would amend the Los Angeles Municipal Code to prohibit all new oil and gas drilling activities and make any existing extraction a nonconforming use in all zones of the City.

The proposed Oil Ordinance seeks to phase out oil drilling activities by immediately banning new oil and gas extraction and requiring the removal of existing operations after an amortization period of 20 years. Consistent with the City’s policies on climate change, Los Angeles is introducing regulations that would improve the City’s livability while addressing long-standing injustices to frontline communities disproportionately affected by the health impacts of drill sites.

Stakeholders and interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on the Oil Ordinance at a public hearing on August 30. To provide feedback, email planning.oildrilling@lacity.org.

Council File

Draft Ordinance

Fact Sheet

Revised Measure JJJ In-Lieu Fee Schedule

Los Angeles released the 2022 revised Measure JJJ In-Lieu Fee Schedule. Voters approved Measure JJJ in November 2016, adding provisions to the City’s Municipal Code to require developers of certain residential projects that receive a discretionary General Plan amendment, zone change, or height district change either to provide affordable units or pay an in-lieu fee.

The City is required to update the in-lieu fee rates every two years based on the Measure JJJ Affordability Gaps Study. The 2022 study uses the same methodology as earlier studies but has been updated to reflect current development costs associated with construction of affordable housing. The 2022 study summarizes the findings used to determine the 2022 in-lieu fees.

The 2022 Measure JJJ In-Lieu Fee Schedule is effective as of August 1 and replaces the fee schedule issued in 2019. The revised documents are posted on the Housing Policy and Adopted Land Use Regulations pages of the Department’s website.

Affordability Study 

Revised Fee Schedule

South Los Angeles Community Plan Implementation Overlay Amendment

The Department is amending portions of the South Los Angeles Community Plan Implementation Overlay (CPIO) to strengthen neighborhood stability and promote the preservation of affordable housing. The proposed amendments include requiring the replacement of certain affordable housing units as well as delaying the issuance of demolition permits until a new project is approved on a site.

In January 2020, the Los Angeles City Council instructed City Planning to prepare a report analyzing the North University-Exposition Park-West Adams Neighborhood Stabilization (NSO) Overlay Supplemental Use District, an overlay within the South Los Angeles Community Plan area, to explore strategies to address community concerns including displacement, affordable housing shortages, and out-of-scale infill development.

City Planning will be conducting virtual office hours leading up to the hearing on September 21, 2022. For additional information, or to be added to the interested parties list, contact City Planning Associate Fabiola Inzunza at fabiola.inzunza@lacity.org or (213) 978-1321.

The Office of Racial Justice, Equity, and Transformative Planning (ORJETP) submitted a progress report on its Racial Equity Action Plan to the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity. The report outlines some key milestones and future resources needed for the Department to achieve equity goals within a two-year timeframe. The proposals and milestones in the report were informed by previous equity deliverables produced by the Department. For more information, or to stay engaged, please contact ORJETP staff at rjeap@lacity.org.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation and City Planning hosted a virtual open house and public hearing on August 2 in support of the recently released revised drafts for the proposed update to the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program.

The proposed TDM Program update aims to reduce demand for drive-alone vehicle trips by expanding the range of transportation options and increasing accessibility throughout the City, providing benefits to the environment and public health. It would require new development projects over a certain size to implement strategies for reducing vehicle trips, such as supporting transit, telecommuting, walking, carshare, or other sustainable travel options.

Although the public comment period closed on August 15, the presentation, Q&A, and Public Hearing can still be viewed online. Visit planning4la.org/mobility for more information and email planning.mobility@lacity.org to be added to the interested parties list.

Revised Draft TDM Ordinance

Draft TDM Program Guidelines

New Fact Sheet

Applications filed and completed declined by 21 and 12 percent respectively between June and July. While proposed and approved market-rate housing also declined over the same period, the number of affordable units approved by City Planning increased by 6%, adding 463 units to the City’s affordable housing development pipeline.

• Published the Draft EIR on July 28, along with an updated Draft Community Plan text, zoning regulations, Draft Land Use Map, and Draft Community Plan Implementation Overlay (CPIO)
• Released a four-part video series in 2021 providing an overview of the Boyle Heights Community Plan Update process and policies

• Preparing final Letter of Determination (LOD) and the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to be transmitted to the City Council later this fall of 2022
• Plan and new Zoning recommended for approval by the City Planning Commission in September 2022
• Released revised materials in advance of City Planning Commission hearing, including Zoning, Plan Text, Land Use Map, and Community Benefits Program, in June 2021

• Preparing Draft Zoning and Draft EIR for the Harbor LA Community Plans Update
• Released the Preliminary Draft Plans (updated policy documents) for Harbor Gateway and Wilmington-Harbor City in May 2022
• Released Harbor LA StoryMap with new zoning information in December 2021

• Initiating EIR in fall 2023
• Releasing General Plan Land Use Map in spring 2023
• Conducting outreach for Ventura-Cahuenga corridor in summer/fall 2022

• Preparing draft Zoning and EIR for the Southwest Valley Community Plans Update 
• Virtual Office Hours held in June 2022
• Updated Proposed General Plan Land Use Designations video series and StoryMap released in May 2022

• Preparing revised General Plan land Use (GPLU) StoryMap, Plan Policy Text, and New Zones
• Received and reviewed over 100 applications from the public to join the Westside Community Plan Advisory Group (WCPAG) in June and July 2022
• Rolled out Westside Community Plan Advisory Group (WCPAG) application in May 2022
• Conducted outdoor field site visits in Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey, Venice, West LA, and Westchester-Playa del Rey in March and April 2022

Leonis Adobe

August 6 marked the 60th anniversary of Los Angeles’s Cultural Heritage Ordinance—one of the first local preservation laws in any major U.S. city—which initiated historic preservation efforts in Los Angeles that continue to the present day. There are now 1,264 Historic-Cultural Monuments (HCMs), marking places that represent significant events in the City's history, as well as significant architectural achievements that have shaped Los Angeles, and sites associated with people who have contributed to the City's rich civic and cultural life.

To commemorate the occasion, the Commission and the Department worked with LA CityView 35 to feature eight of the HCMs in short video segments, including a family cemetery, a Julia Morgan-designed YWCA, an adaptively reused gas station/drive-through coffee shop, and the very first HCM designation: the Leonis Adobe. Additionally, LA CityView 35 hosted the Commission President and Vice President on its show for an informative interview on the importance of the Cultural Heritage Commission and the Office of Historic Resources. 

Watch all of the HCM video segments at YouTube.com/Planning4LA. The special presentation at the August 4 commission meeting gives an overview of the last six decades of preservation as recalled by current and former commission members and a look ahead to the next 60 years of preserving and honoring the City’s abundant cultural legacy.

Cultural Heritage Ordinance

List of Historic-Cultural Monuments

September City Planning

Commission Meetings



September 8, 22

September Area Planning

Commission Meetings

Central: September 13

South Los Angeles: September 6, 20

South Valley: September 8, 22

West: September 7, 21

East: September 14, 28

Harbor: September 6, 20

North Valley: September 1, 15

September Cultural Heritage

Commission Meetings

September 1, 15